Chemical Weapons in Syria – US supplies and condones Chemical Weapons use against Bahraini Oppostion every day

Double Cappuccino With a Shot of Tear (or Other) Gas, Please
24 July, 2012 – Voices of The Arab Spring

The world is freaking out today with news of Syria’s admission of having chemical weapons. It’s been an open secret that Syria has had these weapons for years. According to the NYT:

“Over the past four decades, Syria has amassed huge supplies of mustard gas, sarin nerve agent and cyanide, according to unclassified reports by the Central Intelligence Agency.”

So the real headline is that something has changed in Syria to get the regime to play their hand, to acknowledge their stockpile instead of denying it or ignoring accusations. Personally, I think this could be a big sign Syria is scared and injured. Just like a badly wounded animal backed into a corner, Syria is thrashing about in a last-ditch effort, desperate to preserve itself (or deter) using any means necessary.

But with all this talk of Syria and dangerous gasses, I want to bring up Bahrain–the forgotten revolution.

When doing research in Bahrain, I heard multiple stories of police firing teargas into homes, then closing and locking all the doors and windows. At the time of my stay, around 30 had been killed by teargas suffocation alone–one victim was a baby only a few days old.

Here is a Bahraini woman I interviewed at the big Formula One protest in April of this year… (really, I guess it’s more of a statement, as she was so passionate I couldn’t get any of my own questions in to ask!):
Now… the above video was filmed during a peaceful (and legal) march of thousands of Bahrainis (not just Shia, I also met quite a few Sunnis) during the weekend of the Grand Prix Formula One Race. After the official demonstration ended, on the way back to my car, I heard faint explosions, gun fire and screaming. As the violence got louder (and the frantic rumors ripping through the crowd became more intense), I ran toward the Costa Coffee in the mall, the place where the march started, so I could take cover. But on the way, I ran into some clashes and got a big dose of teargas. Water streamed from my eyes and nose, my throat burned and my lungs felt agitated and tight. All my mucous membranes burned with a hot pepper and radish fire. With a few other people, I moved through the crowd and into Costa Coffee where hundreds of Bahrainis were trying to both watch the intensifying violence and run from it at the same time. The sirens, gunfire and sounds of explosions came closer and closer. …more